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THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 
OF ENGLAND. 



ERRATA. 

Page 27, line I, for 1848, read 1648. 
" 40, " 15, " 1648, " 1649. 
" 69, " 1, " 1650, " 1651. 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES/1. OF 
ENGLAND, BY MRS. C. S. H.x:LARK 




JOHN MURPHY AND COMPANY 
BALTIMORE - MDCCCXCIV 



*" MAY 101894*1 . 

22T?7^«2. 



y^^. 



W 6 -CS 



COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY JOHN MURPHY & CO. 



Metropolitan Press, Baltimore. 



DEDICATED 



3obn ant) ffrances* 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 



CHAPTER I. 




HE Stuarts were of Norman origin, and tra- 
dition tells us that they were descendants 
of Banquo, the betrayed friend of Macbeth, 
to whom the witches prophesied "thou shalt get Kings, 
though thou be none." 

When Malcolm, son of the unfortunate King Duncan, 
returned from the Court of Edward the Confessor where 
he had taken refuge, and was raised to the throne of 
Scotland, he made Fleance, son of Banquo, Lord High 
Steward of his kingdom. From that time the family 
appear to have adopted the title of their office as 
their surname, changing it from Steward into Stewart 
or Stuart. 



6 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

Through intervening years the Stuarts filled this high 
office, taking part in all great national events and carry- 
ing the Cross in the Crusades, until Walter Stuart, who 
was knighted on the field of Bannockburn, married the 
daughter of the great Bruce. 

About 1371, on the death of the weak David II., son 
of Robert Bruce, the son of Walter Stuart and Marjory 
Bruce was made King under the name of Robert II. 
and thus the Stuarts attained to the throne of Scotland, 
and eventually to that of Great Britain. 

Until 1603, the Stuarts occupied the throne of Scot- 
land only. In that year, on the death of Elizabeth of 
England, James VI. of Scotland became heir to the 
English Crown through his mother, the beautiful but 
unfortunate Mary Stuart, and thus the two countries 
became united under one head. James was succeeded 
by his son Charles I., and it is of his children that this 
sketch is written. 

In 1625, Charles I. of England married Henrietta 
Maria, the daughter of Henry of Navarre, one of the 
greatest of the French monarchs. Their oldest living 
child was Charles, Prince of Wales ; the second, James, 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES L 7 

Duke of York ; Mary, the Princess Royal ; Elizabeth ; 
and Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the baby in the family 
in 1640, when we find them still a happy family un- 
disturbed by the storm which was so soon to break 
over their heads. 

Charles I., though a good and loving husband and a 
most affectionate father, was far from being a wise king. 
A true Stuart, he only recognized the rights of kings, 
and could not realize that the time had come when the 
people would no longer yield implicit obedience to their 
sovereigns regardless of their own rights. A few centu- 
ries earlier he would have made an excellent king ; he 
was of a good disposition and a fine mind, but easily 
influenced by his friends, and unfortunately he was sur- 
rounded by many unwise advisers. 

In order to carry on his wars, Charles levied heavy 
taxes on the people which he summoned a Parliament 
to confirm ; this they refused to do ; several Parliaments 
were convened and dismissed, each refusing to accede 
to the King's demands for money. Finally, the Long 
Parliament was assembled on November 3d, 1640, and 
continued its sessions for four years. Far from granting 



8 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

the King's demands, it entered into an alliance with 
Scotland, where the people were in a state of insur- 
rection, and Civil War was now declared in England. 

About this time King Charles, in order to obtain help 
from Holland, gave his oldest daughter Mary in mar- 
riage to William, the young Prince of Orange. 

The marriage took place May 2d, 1641, in the Chapel 
of Whitehall palace, the King and the oldest Princes 
being the only members of the royal family present. 
The Queen, accompanied by her mother, Mary de Medicis, 
and the little Elizabeth, witnessed the ceremony from a 
gallery, not being allowed as Roman Catholics to appear 
at the service. 

Though married, Mary was but ten years old and the 
Prince sixteen. By the marriage settlement the Princess 
was to remain in England until her education was com- 
pleted, and the Prince to return to his own country for 
the same purpose ; accordingly, within a few days after 
the marriage the little groom bade his child-wife fare- 
well and sailed for Holland. 

The separation was not, however, for so long as was 
anticipated ; in the following spring of 1642, Henrietta 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 9 

Maria, under pretext of taking Mary to Holland, but in 
reality to obtain assistance from abroad for her husband, 
left England. After a very rough voyage the Queen 
and the Princess landed in Holland and were warmly 
welcomed by the young Prince, his father Frederick of 
Orange, and the Queen of Bohemia. Apartments were 
given them in the royal palace at the Hague, and many 
fetes were celebrated in their honor. 

That the absence of the Queen and Princess was much 
felt in England in the royal family will be seen by a 
letter which shortly followed them to Holland. 

" To the Rands Of The Lady Marie Princess of Aurania 
These Presents. 

"Most Royal Sistee, 

" Methinks, although I cannot enjoy that former happi- 
ness which I was wont in the fruition of your society, 
being barred those joys by the parting waves, yet I 
cannot so forget the kindness I owe unto so dear a sister 
as not to write ; also expecting the like salutation from 
you, that although awhile dissevered, we may recipro- 



10 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

cally understand each other's welfare. I could heartily 
and with a fervent devotion wish your return, were it 
not to lessen your delights in your royal Spouse, the 
Prince of Orange, who as I conceive by his last letter, 
was as joyful for your presence as we are sad and mourn- 
ing for your absence. 

" My father is very much disconsolate and troubled, 
partly for my royal mother's and your absence, and 
partly for the disturbance of this Kingdom. 

" Dear sister, we are as much as we may merrj^, and 

more than we would sad, in respect we cannot alter the 

present distempers of these troublesome times. My 

father's resolution is now for York, where he intends 

to reside, to see the event or sequel to these bad un- 

propitious beginnings, whither you direct your letter. 

Thus much desiring your comfortable answer to these 

my sad lines. 

" I rest, 

" Your loving Brother 

"Charles Princeps." 

Royston, 9th March, 1642. 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 11 

Early in 1643 Henrietta Maria sailed for England, 
committing her young daughter to the love and care of 
her Aunt Elizabeth of Bohemia. 

Elizabeth of Bohemia was the sister of Charles I. and 
the widow of the Elector Palatine, who dying an exile 
in Sweden, his wife and children became dependent upon 
the hospitality of the Prince of Orange for a home. 

On May 4th of that same year, which was also Mary's 
twelfth birthday, her marriage was solemnized at the 
Hague, although it was not consummated until three 
years later. William of Orange was in every respect 
calculated to inspire his young wife with affection, and 
through their short married life they were warmly at- 
tached to each other. He was the handsomest and most 
accomplished prince of his day ; an excellent statesman 
and a good soldier, he was at once the " hope and pride 
and dread of his country." 



CHAPTER II. 




N the autumn of 1642, the first blood was shed 
in the Revolution at the battle of Edgehill, 
where the royalists obtained the victory ; but 
the tide of fortune was soon to turn. King Charles had 
taken his two oldest boys to the army with him, but 
Elizabeth and Harry of Oatlands, as the little boy was 
sometimes called, from the place of his birth, left under 
the care of Lady Roxburgh at Hampton Court, fell into 
the hands of Parliament. Separated from their family 
and Lady Roxburgh, who had been with them from in- 
fancy, the children were far from happy, but we will let 
Elizabeth speak for herself. 

"My Lords, 

" I account myself very miserable that I must have my 
servants taken from me and strangers put to me. You 
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Charles I. of England, 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 13 

promised me and I hope you will shew it, that you 

would have a care of me, in preventing so great a grief 

as this would be to me. I pray you to consider of it 

and to give me cause to thank you and rest your loving 

friend 

Elizabeth. 

To the right honorable the lords and peers in parliament." 

This letter was written when the Princess was but 
eight years of age ; very uncomfortable must have been 
their condition before a child could bring herself to do 
what would have been difficult for an older person. 

Little Elizabeth had been born on Holy Innocents' 
Day, when the ground was covered with snow, a fitting 
emblem as it has been said, of the purity of her charac- 
ter. The attendants about the Princess, though ordered 
not to treat her otherwise than they would any child of 
gentle birth, were so impressed by the loftiness of her 
character and the dignity of her bearing, that they 
always addressed her as " My little lady." 

Fortunately for the child she was fond of study, and 
thus beguiled many tedious hours. At eight years of 



14 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

age she read and wrote French, Italian, Latin, Greek, 
and Hebrew ; of the latter two languages she was es- 
pecially fond, and her delight was in reading the Bible 
in Greek and Hebrew. So remarkable a child was she 
considered, that several learned men of that day dedi- 
cated essays in prose and verse to her, and her family 
built high hopes on the honor and benefit she would 
bring them by an alliance with one of the royal families 
on the Continent. But all hopes of a great earthly future 
were destined to disappointment. The young Princess 
was never strong, the solitary life she led, the want of 
proper companionship and the unhealthy amount of 
studying she was allowed to do, soon told on her health, 
and were very prejudicial to a naturally delicate con- 
stitution. 

Though Henrietta Maria sailed from Holland in 
January 1643, it was not until the spring that she was 
able to join the King. After encountering heavy storms 
through which she kept up the courage of her attendants 
by assuring them that a Queen of England had never 
been drowned, they landed at Burlington on the coast of 
England. But their difficulties were not yet over. The 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 15 

enemy hearing the Queen had landed, stormed the town 
where she lay, and she was obliged to hide in a trench 
from the guns of the besiegers. A story is told which 
shows the kindheartedness of Henrietta Maria ; having, 
in her haste to leave the town, forgotten her little dog 
Mike, she hurried back through all the firing, seized her 
little pet and escaped with him to a place of safety. 

The King, hearing that the Queen had landed and was 
in danger, sent a force of two thousand men to her aid. 
The enemy were driven off, but one of the officers who 
had been most zealous in the attack on the town fell into 
the hands of the royalists and was condemned to im- 
mediate death. The Queen, hearing of the sentence, 
pardoned him, and ordered him to be set at liberty, thus 
returning good for the ill he had done her, and con- 
verting one of her bitterest enemies into a staunch de- 
fender of her cause. 

The King and Queen finally met near Edgehill, and 
for about a year were together, but during that time 
Henrietta Maria never saw her two youngest children. 

In the summer of 1644, the Queen having parted from 
King Charles near Oxford never to see him again, re- 



16 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

tired to Exeter, in which town on the 16th of June, was 
born the youngest child of Charles I., the little Henrietta 
Anne. Two weeks later on the approach of the parlia- 
mentary army, Henrietta Maria sent to General Essex 
the officer in charge asking to be allowed to go to 
Bristol. Far from granting her request, he brutally 
sent word that "it was his intention to conduct her 
Majesty to London, where her presence was required to 
answer for the war." 

Seeing she had no time to lose, Henrietta Maria left 
her sick bed, and in disguise and accompanied by only 
two or three faithful friends escaped from Exeter. Her 
first stopping place was a wayside hut, where she lay 
concealed two days while the entire army who were 
seeking her ruin passed by, utterly unconscious that she, 
on whose destruction they were so intent, was in such 
close proximity to them. 

In Dartmoor Forest the Queen was joined by a few 
more of her attendants, who, likewise, had effected their 
escape from Exeter. Among them was Geoffrey Hudson, 
the little dwarf, to whom the Queen was much attached. 
In her happy days when still a young bride, at a dinner 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES 1. 17 

given her Majesty by the Duke of Buckingham, a large 
venison pie was placed in front of the Queen ; on the 
pastry being cut, out stepped this little man and kneel- 
ing before Henrietta Maria begged to be allowed to be 
her knight. 

At that time he was but eighteen inches tall, but 
finally grew to be three and a half feet high ; though so 
diminutive in body, his mind seems to have been fully 
developed and at times he was intrusted with most im- 
portant missions. His temper was very quick and as 
may be readily imagined, he had much to try it, being 
made the butt for the witticisms of the young courtiers. 

On one occasion this jesting was carried too far, and 
Geoffrey Hudson called the young man to account ; look- 
ing upon it still in the light of a joke, young Croft ap- 
peared at the rendezvous armed only with a squirt ; 
rendered still more indignant by this added insult, the 
dwarf insisted on a duel. The opponents, mounted on 
horseback, accordingly fought, and young Croft fell, a 
victim to his own folly. 

But to return to the Queen. The coast was reached in 
safety, and after a short rest at Falmouth passage over 
2 



18 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

was secured on a vessel sailing for the French coast. 
But Henrietta Maria had not yet escaped the vigilance 
of her foes; the vessel was pursued and the Captain 
was completely unmanned by his terror. Like the true 
daughter of her great father, Henrietta Maria took com- 
mand and ordered every sail to be set and at the same 
time gave positive orders that when all hope of escape 
was gone, the vessel and all its occupants were to be 
blown up. 

Inspired by the example of their Queen, the sailors 
strained every nerve to reach the opposite shore, but 
their goal was still far distant when the French appeared 
on the scene and rescued them from their pursuers. A 
landing was effected at Brest, and so exhausted was the 
Queen that she was glad to seek shelter and rest in a 
fisherman's hut, her bed being a pile of straw in one 
corner. The news of her arrival soon spread and the 
gentry of the neighborhood flocked to offer assistance. 
After resting at the Baths of Bourbon, Henrietta 
Maria entered Paris and took up her abode at the 
Louvre, where apartments had been prepared for her 
reception. 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 19 

But what had become of the little baby who was of 
necessity left behind ? Lady Dalkeith, the Queen's 
friend, took charge of the child, and a little later, on 
the approach of the royalists, the enemy retired and the 
King entered Exeter. 

On July 26th, Charles, for the first time, saw his little 
daughter, who was now about six weeks old, but it was 
only for a comparatively short time he could remain 
with her. In 1646, after standing a long siege, Exeter 
again changed hands and then Parliament removed the 
little Henrietta Anne to Oatlands as a more secure place 
of keeping. Here Lady Dalkeith was still allowed to 
have the care of the Princess, though under the super- 
vision of Parliament. 

The following summer, hearing that Parliament de- 
signed taking the child from her, Lady Dalkeith de- 
termined, rather than be separated from the Princess, 
to attempt an escape from England. Aided by one or 
two faithful servants she disguised herself as a beggar 
and leaving Oatlands with the child on her back, this 
brave woman made her way on foot to Dover, where 
she secured passage on a packet, and arriving in 



20 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

France in safety soon placed the Princess in her 
mother's arms. 

Many were the risks they ran as they thus travelled 
through England ; the child was able to talk but not 
plainly ; she rebelled against the poor clothes in which 
they had dressed her, and did her best to tell people 
that she was not the little beggar boy Pierre as she was 
called, but the little Princess. Fortunately for her the 
people whom they met could not understand her in- 
dignant prattle. 

Henrietta was the only child of Charles I. who was 
raised in the Roman Catholic Church ; being left entirely 
to her mother, it was but natural that she should bring 
her up in her own faith, and to that faith the Princess 
always adhered. 



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CHAPTER III. 



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N January of 1646, the Prince of Wales, by 
his father's advice, escaped from England ; he 
went first to the Scilly Islands, then to Jersey, 
and finally he joined his mother in Paris. 

As heir presumptive to the throne of England, Charles 
was received with the honor due to royalty. The French 
Court happened at that time to be at Fontainebleau, a 
very ancient and magnificent castle about forty miles 
from Paris. 

Louis XIII., Henrietta Maria's brother, was now dead, 
but his widow, Anne of Austria, the regent of his little 
boy, was a most kind-hearted woman, and through her 
entire life extended all the aid and hospitality in her 
power to her sister-in-law and her children. 

For a few days Charles remained at the Louvre with 
his mother, then in accordance with an invitation, they 
joined the French Court at Fontainebleau. 

21 



22 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

The royal family of France consisted of the Queen 
regent, the young King Louis XIV. and his brother 
Philip, better known as Monsieur ; Henrietta Maria's 
brother Graston of Orleans, who was lieutenant general 
of the Kingdom, and lastly, of his daughter Anne Maria, 
duchess of Montpensier, a title she derived from her 
mother as well as an immense fortune. 

The Prince of Wales was first cousin to these young 
people, and now formed one of the miniature Court which 
surrounded the young Louis XIV. This little King, 
though but eight years of age, had his suite of apart- 
ments, his small attendants and officers, "and everything 
was regulated with the utmost punctilio and etiquette." 

We will give in the Duchess of Montpensier' s own 
words what followed the introduction of the Prince of 
Wales into this Court. This Princess or as she is best 
known in history la grande Mademoiselle, was a few 
years older than the others and of a proud and aspiring- 
disposition. Her aunt the Empress of Germany having 
died, the height of her ambition was to take her place, 
never doubting, but that the Emperor would in due 
time seek her hand. 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 23 

But as to the Prince of Wales "he was only sixteen 
or seventeen years of age, rather tall, with a fine head, 
black hair, a dark complexion and a tolerably agreeable 
countenance. But he neither spoke nor understood 
French, which was very inconvenient. Nevertheless 
everything was done to amuse him, and during the 
three days that he remained at Fontainebleau there were 
hunts and every other sport which could be commanded 
in that season. He paid his respects to all the prin- 
cesses and I discovered immediately that the Queen of 
England wished to persuade me that he had fallen in 
love with me. She told me he talked incessantly of 
me ; that were she not to prevent it he would be in my 
apartments at all hours ; that he found me quite to his 
taste and that he was in despair on account of the death 
of the Empress, for he was afraid that they would seek 
to marry me to the Emperor. I listened to all she said 
as became me, but it did not have as much effect upon 
me as she probably wished." 

From all this we see that Henrietta Maria desired to 
make a match between her rich niece and her oldest son. 
Her fortune would have helped very materially to repair 



24 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

their ruined fortunes, but Mademoiselle also saw this 
and determined not to give herself and her money to a 
prince who was both homeless and throneless. 

After the return of the Court to Paris, the young 
people were still thrown much in each other's society 
and the English Queen never missed an opportunity to 
forward her favorite scheme. 

In her memoirs la grande Mademoiselle tells us of 
two different occasions when Henrietta Maria insisted 
on dressing her and arranging her hair for balls, " the 
Prince of Wales held the flambeau near me to light my 
toilette the whole time." At the second ball Henrietta 
Maria loaned her some of the few jewels she still pos- 
sessed, in addition to which she wore the crown jewels 
of France. " The Queen praised the fine turn of my 
shape, my air, the beauty of my complexion and the 
brightness of my light hair. I had a conspicuous seat 
in the middle of the ball room, with the young King of 
France and the Prince of Wales at my feet ; I did not 
feel the least embarrassed, for, as I had an idea of 
marrying the Emperor, I regarded the Prince of Wales 
only as an object of pity." 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 25 

James, Duke of York, not so fortunate as Charles in 
making his escape, had been captured in 1645, and 
confined with the Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of 
Gloucester at Whitehall. About that time a change was 
made from which the children derived much pleasure, 
the Earl of Northumberland was appointed by Par- 
liament to take charge of them, he was an old friend 
of the King's and still warmly attached to him and 
his family. 

In order to avoid rousing the suspicion of Parliament 
the Duke of Northumberland obtained the promise of 
the children that they would have no secret communi- 
cations with their family. The Queen, not knowing this, 
forwarded a note to James, which was handed him 
privately while playing tennis ; the boy, true to his 
word, drew back, saying, " I cannot take it, I have 
promised that I will not." 

This promise did not, however, prevent the Duke 
from making every possible effort to escape, as advised 
by his father to do. He was now fifteen years of age, 
and after the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, which 
made his parents anxious to get him out of the power 



26 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

of their enemies; a fact which made Parliament also 
anxious to keep him in their power. 

The Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Gloucester 
often played hide and seek through the palace, and 
James joined oftentimes in their game. At first it was 
only to play as the others did, but as his determination 
to escape became more fixed in his mind, he joined the 
game thinking it might be, as in the end it proved to 
be, the means of evading his keepers, effecting his escape 
and joining his family abroad. 

In order to avoid suspicion James would take the part 
of the one to hide, each time seeking a more out of the 
way spot or nook, and often prolonging the search into 
half an hour, until the attendants, though alarmed at 
first at this long absence, grew accustomed to it and 
took it for granted that the boy would finally come 
to light. 

Every arrangement for the flight from the country 
having been made by his friends after the Duke should 
have escaped, James confided his plan to the Princess 
Elizabeth, who was to aid him by prolonging the search 
until too late for detection. Accordingly on April 21st, 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 27 

1848, the children began the game of hide and seek ; 
as usual James was the one to hide, instead of doing so, 
he quietly left the palace grounds by a back gate which 
opened into an extensive park where his friends were 
in waiting with other clothes and a wig. In this dis- 
guise they crossed London and reached the Thames, 
where a boat was in readiness to take them to Graves- 
end. There they secured passage on a vessel just about 
to sail for Holland and before long James was with 
Mary, Princess of Orange, his sister, whom he had last 
seen as a little girl when they were all children together 
in London. 



CHAPTER IV. 




ITRINGr these years the Revolution had made 
rapid strides ; at first the Royalists were 
successful, but the battle of Marston Moor 
fought in 1644, was ruinous to their cause. 

A treaty was entered into but the King refused to 
accede to all of the demands of Parliament, and hos- 
tilities were renewed. 

On June 14th of the same year the battle of Naseby 
was fought, which proved the final blow to the Royal 
Cause. Charles now threw himself on the protection of 
the Scots, but ultimately they gave him up to the Parlia- 
ment and he was carried to Hampton Court a prisoner 
indeed, but treated with respect. Entirely at the mercy 
of his enemies, Charles yielded to all demands of Parlia- 
ment, barely retaining more than the empty title of 
King. Every thing even now would have been amicably 
28 ' 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 29 

settled, and peace restored to the Kingdom, when Crom- 
well suddenly appeared at the head of a body of troops, 
dismissed Parliament and siezed the King. 

Who was this man who by military force thus ruled 
England and wrought so much harm to the house of 
Stuart ! Oliver Cromwell was of a good birth on both 
sides, and a man of powerful intellect but unbounded 
ambition. He was a member of Parliament in early 
life ; dissatisfied with the government and determined 
to leave England, he with his family and accompanied 
by Richard Hampden, one of the ablest leaders of the 
Revolution, had in 1637 actually taken passage for 
" New England in America " when the ship was pro- 
hibited sailing by a public proclamation. What would 
have been the fate of England but for this ! 

Forced to remain in England, Cromwell took an active 
part in the Revolution which followed ; renowned for his 
skill and bravery, he Avas made colonel, then lieutenant- 
general and finally attained to the command of the entire 
army. Oliver Cromwell was also a religious fanatic who 
never hesitated to claim inspiration from Heaven for any 
act he might determine upon. Such was the man in 



30 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

whose power Charles I. now found himself and full well 
did he realize his situation. 

During the King's imprisonment he was allowed 
several interviews with the Princess Elizabeth and the 
little Duke. " It had been five years since Charles had 
seen his daughter, he had left her a child of seven years 
and found her a graceful but delicate girl of twelve, 
with an expression of meek and thoughtful sorrow on 
her brow that was only too much in unison with his 
own feelings. The little Duke of Gloucester, now a 
sprightly child of seven, had never seen his father since 
he was two years old. ' Do you know me, my child ? ' 
said Charles. 'No,' was the boy's reply. 'I am your 
father, child, and it is not one of the least of my mis- 
fortunes that I have brought you and your brothers and 
sisters into this world to share my miseries.' When 
General Fairfax, to whose entreaties these interviews 
were chiefly due, came into the room, Elizabeth thanked 
him in such a womanly and heartfelt way, that the 
soldier was much touched and begged to be allowed to 
kiss her hand." And it is said that " Cromwell declared 
that these interviews between the King and his children 




Princess Elizabeth. 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 31 

were the most touching sights he ever beheld, and that 
he alone of all the men bent his knee to the Princess." 

But these meetings which were such a source of 
pleasure to the children as well as the King soon ceased. 
Charles having failed in an attempt to escape from 
Hampton Court, was taken to the Isle of Wight and 
confined in Carisbrooke Castle. His trial then followed ; 
but of this the children were kept in ignorance until 
sent for by their father for his farewell blessing. Then 
Elizabeth had to be told all ; that the mock trial was 
over, and her father had been sentenced to death. At 
first it was feared the news had killed her, so great 
was her anguish, but she mustered strength for this 
last interview with her father on January 29th, 1649. 
The King was at St. James Palace in London awaiting 
his execution, which took place on the next day, the 
30th. How changed he was from what he had been 
fifteen months before, when they had last seen him, 
old and broken and uncared for. 

" The Princess Elizabeth burst into a flood of tears at 
the sight of her father and the little Harry wept for 
company. The Royal father consoled and soothed them, 



32 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

and when he had solemnly blessed them, drew them 
to his bosom." We will give the Princess's own simple 
narrative of what followed : 

"What the King said to me on the 29th of January, 
1649, the last time I had the happiness to see him. 
He told me he was glad I had come, for though he 
had not time to say much, yet, somewhat he had wished 
to say to me, which he could not to another, and he 
had feared the cruelty was too great to permit his 
writing. 'But, sweetheart,' he added, 'thou wilt forget 
what I tell thee.' Then shedding abundance of tears, 
continues the Princess, I told him I would write down 
all he said to me. He wished me, he said, not to grieve 
and torment myself for him, for it was a glorious death 
he should die, it being for the laws and religion of 
the land. He said he had forgiven all his enemies 
and he hoped God would forgive them also ; and he 
commanded us, and all the rest of my brothers and 
sisters to forgive them also. Above all, he bade me 
to tell my mother that his thoughts had never strayed 
from her and that his love for her would be the same 
to the last ; withal he commanded me and my brother 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 33 

to love her, and be obedient to her. He desired me not 
to grieve for him, for he should die a martyr ; and that 
he doubted not, but God would restore the throne to his 
son, and then we should all be happier than we could 
possibly have been if he had lived." 

" Then taking my brother, Gloucester on his knee, he 
said, ' Sweetheart, now they will cut off thy father's head;' 
upon which the child looked very steadfastly upon him. 
' Heed, my child, what I say ; they will cut off my head, 
and perhaps make thee a king, but, mark what I say, 
you must not be King as long as your brothers Charles 
and James live ; therefore I charge you, do not be made 
a king by them.' At which the child replied, ' I will be 
torn to pieces first ; ' and these words coming so unex- 
pectedly from so young a child rejoiced my father 
exceedingly. And his Majesty spoke to him of the 
welfare of his soul, and to keep his religion, com- 
manding him to fear God, and he would provide for 
him; all of which the young child earnestly promised." 

•' The King then gave to the children some few jewels, 
kissed them, blessed them, and called the attendants to 
take them away. He turned from them to hide his 
3 



34 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

tears and shorten the parting, but Elizabeth's wail of 
anguish brought him again to her side, to fold her in 
his arms, to clasp her to his bosom, to press kisses 
how tender on her quivering lips, and then what could 
he more, to leave her, feeling that for him the bitter- 
ness of death was past." 



CHAPTER V. 




HAT last night Charles passed in tranquil 
sleep ; at daybreak he awoke and said, " I 
will rise now, I have a great work to do 
this day." His attendant's agitation was so great that 
he failed to arrange the King's hair as well as usual. 
"Way," said Charles, "though my head be not to 
stand long on my shoulders, take the same pains with 
it that you were wont to do ; this is my second marriage 
day ; I would be as trim to-day as may be." Finding 
that it was a very cold day, the King asked for another 
warm shirt, " for," said he, " the weather is sharp and 
probably may make me shake ; I would have no impu- 
tation of fear, for death is not terrible to me. I bless 
my Grod I am prepared. Let the rogues come when- 
ever they please." 

At break of day Bishop Juxon arrived to pray with 
the King, and remained with him to the last. Shortly 

35 



36 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

the summons came to go to Whitehall. A double line 
of soldiers guarded the path which the King took 
through the park, while another detachment of soldiers 
preceded him with " banners flying and drums beating." 
On one side of the King walked Bishop Juxon; and 
Colonel Tomlinson, in whose charge the royal captive 
had been put, walked on the other side. From being 
an enemy to his King, Colonel Tomlinson had been 
converted by Charles' dignity of bearing in his trial, 
to one of his warmest admirers, and now protected him 
from the insolence and violence of the soldiers. 

As Charles had anticipated, the quick walk through 
the park had done much to counteract the chill of the 
cold weather. On reaching Whitehall the King entered 
his old bed-room, and there the Holy Communion was 
administered him by Bishop Juxon. A little later he 
was urged to eat a dinner which had been prepared ; at 
first he declined, but being urged by the Bishop, who 
said, " Sir, you have fasted long to-day ; the weather is 
so cold that faintness may occur." "You are right," 
said the King, and took a glass of wine and some bread. 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 37 

"Now," he exclaimed, "let the rascals come; I have 
forgiven them and am quite ready." 

A delay had arisen from the difficulty of finding a man 
willing to act as executioner to his King. At last, by 
force and bribery, Gregory Brandon, the hangman, was 
induced to fulfil his usual duty. In case, however, of a 
refusal on his part at the critical moment, one Hulet a 
sergeant in the army, by promise of promotion, was also 
on the scaffold. 

During this delay Charles received by a private mes- 
senger a letter from the Prince of Wales, enclosing a 
carte blanche with his name attached for his father to 
fill up, binding himself to anything, that his father's life 
might be spared. Though much touched at this mani- 
festation of devotion from his son, Charles would not 
sacrifice his son's future to save his own life. For fear 
the paper might fall into other hands for whom it was 
not intended, Charles carefully burned it. 

About one o'clock the final summons came. Bishop 
Juxon and the faithful Herbert fell on their knees. 
" Rise, my old friend," said Charles, holding out his 
hand to the Bishop, and he bade Herbert open the door. 



38 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

The way to the scaffold was through the ball-room, where 
a window had been taken out to allow the King to pass 
out on to it. 

The King's dignity of presence and courage never for- 
sook him ; with a calm expression he gazed on the sea 
of soldiers gathered round the platform to prevent any 
rising among the people. Seeing the uselessness of 
attempting to address his people over the soldiery, he 
addressed only a few words to his friends who had 
accompanied him. 

While thus engaged some one touched the axe; the 
King exclaimed, " Have a care of the axe ; if the edge is 
spoiled it will be the worse for me." Gregory Brandon, 
the executioner, now knelt before him, begging forgive- 
ness for the deed he was about to do. " No," said 
Charles, " I forgive no subject of mine who comes delib- 
erately to shed my blood." This same man died eighteen 
months later, literally pining to death for want of the 
pardon which was now denied him, saying, " he always 
saw the King as he appeared on the scaffold, and that 
devils did tear him on his death-bed." 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES 1. 39 

Bishop Juxon helped Charles to put his hair under 
his cap out of the way of the axe, reminding him there 
was "but one stage more, which, though very trouble- 
some, is yet but a short one ; it will carry you a great 
way, even from earth to heaven." "I go," replied 
Charles, "from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown, 
where no disturbance can take place." 

He then took off his George and handed it to the 
Bishop, saying, "remember." Taking off his coat and 
putting on his cloak, he said, " I shall say a short 
prayer, and when I hold out my hands, strike." For a 
few moments he stood in silent prayer, looked up to 
Heaven, then knelt and laying his head on the block 
stretched out his hands. At a single blow his head was 
severed from his body. One groan arose from the 
people, but immediately the soldiers dispersed the crowd 
in all directions. 

The body was placed in a coffin and taken into White- 
hall Palace, and later taken to St. James, and finally to 
Windsor for interment, though Charles had requested 
that he might be buried in Westminster Abbey by his 
father. 



40 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

The funeral cortege consisted of four coaches. The 
body rested one night in Windsor Castle, and the next 
day was followed to its final resting place by the Duke 
of Richmond, the Earl of Hertford and Lords Lindsay 
and Southampton. As the coffin was carried out of the 
Castle the snow began to fall so fast and thick that by 
the time the corpse entered the west end of the royal 
chapel the black velvet pall was entirely white, the color 
of innocency. " So went our King, white to his grave," 
said the sorrowing servants of Charles I. 

No burial service was allowed, and at the last moment 
it was remarked that no inscription had been put on the 
coffin, by which it might be recognized. A sheet of lead 
was procured, and with penknives the words Charles 
Rex, 1648, were cut in it ; this strip of lead was then 
fastened around the coffin. 

" Half blinded with tears, with the gloom of impend- 
ing night thick with falling snow, the faithful friends 
and servants of Charles I. lowered his coffin among that 
portion of England's royal dead who repose at Windsor, 
and left him there without either singing or saying, or 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 41 

even the power of ascertaining the precise spot where he 
was laid." 

In 1813 the body was found in a vault containing the 
remains of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. 



CHAPTER VI. 




UT what were Charles' wife and children doing 
during this sad winter? The French Court 
was as gay as ever — ball succeeded ball, ban- 
quet followed banquet, and no one seemed to give a 
thought to the poor King in his solitary confinement and 
awful death. But this was not entirely true, for no one 
ever dreamed that the Parliament would dare to take 
such a step, to make themselves regicides. 

To the poor Queen the shock was overpowering, sus- 
tained through five long years by the hope of being- 
united to the King ; now every hope was crushed to the 
earth. From that time Henrietta Maria named herself 
" La Malheureuse Reine ; " and truly she was entitled 
to the name, for few queens have had more cause to 
mourn for a lost husband — a husband than whom a more 
faithful one could not be found, and that at a time when 
42 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 43 

virtue was not deemed one of the essentials of the kingly- 
character. 

The Queen retired to the Convent at Chaliot to mourn 
for her husband and to grieve for the little ones still in 
the hands of their enemies. 

Court mourning never lasts for long. She returned to 
her family to find Paris in a state of excitement, owing to 
a difficulty between the royal family of France and the 
authorities and people of the city, known as the War of 
the Fronde. 

The Queen Regent and the young Louis, accompanied 
by the entire Court, fled in the night to St. Grermains. 
Henrietta Maria and her little daughter, the Princess 
Henrietta, remained in the Louvre during this insurrec- 
tion, but their poverty was extreme ; they suffered from 
the want of even the necessities of life. Cardinal de 
Retz, going to call on the English Queen one day, dis- 
covered that the little Henrietta Anne was obliged to 
remain in bed to keep warm, as they had no fuel with 
which to make a fire. The kind-hearted Cardinal sup- 
plied their immediate needs and took care that for the 



44 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

future the daughter of Henry IV. should not again be 
reduced to such straits. 

Though la grande Mademoiselle accompanied the 
French Court to St. Germains, she rather sided with the 
Parisians, and was the only one of the royal family who 
dared ride back and forth to Paris through the mob. In 
fact she was quite a heroine during this war ; one day 
taking command of the Bastile, ordering them to fire on 
the troops, and another day relieving a town. These 
troubles, however, lasted but a few months and in 
the autumn of 1649 the French Court was again in 
Paris. 

Mademoiselle's account of the flight of the royal 
family is very amusing, and very characteristic of the 
great Mademoiselle. Waked up in the night, she was 
not in a good humor, and attempted to take the seat next 
the Queen Mother in the royal carriage. When remon- 
strated with, she remarked : " Oh, very well ; I suppose 
young ladies must give way to old people." The first 
night, she tells us in her memoirs, that " she slept in a 
very handsome room, well painted, well gilded and large, 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 45 

with very little fire and no windows, which is not agree- 
able ( in the month of January. I slept on a mattress 
which was laid upon the floor, and my sister, who had 
no bed, slept with me. I was obliged to sing to get her 
to sleep, and then her slumber did not last long, so that 
she disturbed mine. She tossed about, felt me near her, 
woke and exclaimed she saw a beast, and so I was 
obliged to sing again to put her to sleep, and in that way 
I passed the night. Judge whether this was an agree- 
able situation for one who had had little or no sleep the 
night before, and who had been ill all winter with colds. 
However, the fatigue and exposure of this expedition 
cured me." 

" In a short time my father gave me his room, but as 
nobody knew I was there, I was awaked in the night by 
a noise. I drew back my curtains, and was astonished 
to find my chamber filled with men in large buff skin 
collars, and who appeared surprised to see me, and knew 
me as little as I did them. I had no change of linen, 
and when I wanted anything washed, it was done in the 
night while I was in bed. I had no woman to arrange 
my hair and dress me, which is not very convenient ; 



46 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

still I did not lose my gayety, and they were in admira- 
tion at my making no complaint ; and it is true that I 
am a creature that can make the most of everything, and 
am greatly above trifles." 



CHAPTER VII. 




N 1650 Charles, now King of England, began 
to make preparations for an immediate inva- 
sion of his native land. 



From France he received some help, but his main stay 
was his brother-in-law, William, now Prince of Orange 
in consequence of the death of his father; and it was 
from Holland that Charles sailed in June, 1650. 

Soon after the late King's death Scotland, which had 
never gone to such extremes as England, opened nego- 
tiations with the young Prince. They consented to 
acknowledge him King on certain conditions, to which 
Charles agreed, and knowing that a large body of royal- 
ists in England would join him as soon as he landed, he 
hoped thus to obtain his rights. He reached Scotland, 
but before he was allowed to land the Scots made him 



sign their covenant. 



47 



48 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

On the third of the following September Charles was 
badly defeated at Dunbar, but notwithstanding this 
defeat he was a little later crowned at Scone, the ancient 
Abbey where so many of his ancestors had received their 
crowns. 

Leaving Scotland, Charles passed into England intent 
on entering London ; but at Worcester he was inter- 
cepted by Cromwell and forced to give battle, and was 
completely routed ; this was on the 3d of September, 
1651, exactly a year after his first defeat. Nothing now 
remained to the young Prince but to make his escape 
from England ; quitting the field of battle with a few of 
his followers, he sought shelter in what had once been 
an old nunnery. There he was persuaded to disguise 
himself and accompanied by only Lord Wilmot, to go 
to Boscobel, which was on a very out of the way road. 
Richard Penderel, who was in charge of the house, took 
the King and Lord Wilmot in, but even here they could 
not remain with safety. 

After a few hours' rest, the King with Richard Pen- 
derell left Boscobel and proceeded on foot by unfre- 
quented roads towards Madely. In crossing a branch of 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 49 

the Severn they were detected and pursued by a miller ; 
but first by running and then by hiding in a ditch, they 
escaped. At length they reached Madely, but only to 
find it was impossible to cross the Severn and escape into 
Wales, as Charles had proposed doing. 

Tired, foot-sore and weary, they were obliged to retrace 
their steps, and by morning were again at Boscobel. The 
King was completely exhausted, but such comforts as 
the Penderels could afford he enjoyed. The house was 
not a safe place for his Majesty. ^Near by was an oak 
tree with dense foliage ; in this the King with Colonel 
Carlis, one of his officers who had come to the house 
during his absence, secreted themselves. Every effort 
was made to make the King as comfortable as circum- 
stances allowed ; a cushion was fixed for him to sit on, 
and Colonel Carlis sat above him, that his lap might be 
a support for his King's head ; sufficient food for a day 
was also placed in the tree. The King slept for some 
hours while Colonel Carlis kept watch ; no one, however, 
came near them, though people could be seen in the dis- 
tance passing to and fro whom they took for enemies. 
At night they returned to the house, and Charles could 
4 



50 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

not be persuaded to seek shelter again in the oak tree, so 
uncomfortable was the constrained position before the 
day was over. 

After the Restoration, when the story of the oak tree 
became known, it was visited by thousands, each trying 
to carry off a leaf or piece of the tree as a souvenir ; since 
then it has always been called the Royal Oak. To prevent 
the ruin of the tree, it was finally enclosed by a railing. 

Another attempt to get nearer the coast was made. A 
Mrs. Lane was found, who was going on a visit to a rel- 
ative near Bristol ; the King was to accompany her as 
her servant. The first few days of the journey passed 
safely, finally the horse lost a shoe and they were forced 
to stop and have him shod ; while waiting the King 
asked if there was any news. "No news," said the 
smith, " that I know of since the grand news of beating 
the rogues, the Scots at Worcester." " Some of the 
officers had been captured," continued the man, " but he 
could not learn that the rogue Charles Stuart had been 
taken." "The King remarked that if he were captured 
he should be hung for raising the people and making 
this trouble in the country." " You speak like an 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 51 

honest man, said the smith." The work was finished 
and they rode off, safe through one danger. 

At one inn where they stopped, Charles, in his 
character of servant, took his place in the kitchen ; he 
was requested to wind up the jack, a machine they used 
for roasting meats. Naturally the King did not know 
how to do it, and to avoid inconvenient questions, said 
" he was the son of a poor man and seldom had meat at 
home and when they did it was not cooked on a jack." 

At last the house was reached where the visit was to 
be paid ; Charles was advised to remain much of his 
time in his own room under pretence of sickness, rather 
than pass so much time with the servants and run the 
constant risk of detection. The old butler of the house, 
however, recognized his King but far from betraying 
him, aided him in his escape. 

Leaving Leigh, Mrs. Lane and her pretended servant 
proceeded with the greatest precaution towards the sea 
coast. Colonel Wyndham, an old friend and officer of 
Charles I., now took charge of the King, and Lord 
Wilmot who had followed his King at a distance again 
joined him. 



52 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

At Lynne, a little seaport town not far from Colonel 
Wyndham's, a captain of a small vessel was induced in 
consideration of a large bribe, to carry over to the 
French coast two passengers whose names were not 
given. All arrangements were made for the King and 
Lord Wilmot to meet the boat at Charmouth. At the 
appointed hour they were at the pier waiting to embark 
but they waited in vain ; no boat came for them. The 
captain in making his preparations for this mysterious 
and hasty trip had aroused the suspicions of his wife. 
Fearful lest he should involve himself and his family by 
helping the fallen cause, the good woman determined to 
do all in her power to prevent so foolhardy an act. Ac- 
cordingly the evening he was to sail she quietly turned 
the key on him when he went into his room and kept 
him a safe prisoner, until it was too late to keep his 
appointment. 

Things were now becoming desperate ; Charles and his 
friend not daring to linger longer in that neighborhood, 
pushed on to the coast of Sussex, narrowly escaping de- 
tection again and again. It was a strong test of royalty 
to harbor the King, for the country was filled with 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 53 

soldiers scouring it in all directions hoping thereby to 
secure the reward offered by Parliament for his de- 
tection. But notwithstanding the risk they ran, friends 
to the poor King were found all along the coast who 
took him in and gave him the shelter and protection of 
their homes. 

At last at Shoreham a vessel was found laded with 
coal about to sail for another seaport town in England. 
The Captain who was a royalist, was persuaded to cross 
to France before making his usual trip. He had not 
been told it was his King whom he was thus to save, but 
recognized him as he entered the boat ; this fact and the 
danger it would involve him in, far from deterring him 
only made him more determined to carry out the plan 
and land Charles in France. 

But how was the crew to be induced to change the 
course of the vessel and still not arouse suspicion? 
Finally a plan was hit upon which served their purpose 
admirably. They told the crew they were merchants 
in debt and were anxious to make their escape from 
England, and asked their influence with the Captain, 
who was supposed to know nothing of this plan, at the 



54 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

same time bribing them freely. The men completely 
taken in, asked permission of the Captain to touch on 
the French coast before unlading their vessel. All 
seemed to be coming right at last, but one more ad- 
venture awaited them. When they had arrived within 
sight of land the wind failed, and in the distance could 
be seen a vessel approaching. Fearing an enemy, 
Charles and Lord Wilmot forsook the vessel and taking 
to a small boat at last reached France. 

It was at the little village of Fecamp in Normandy 
they landed, but in so deplorable a condition that the 
natives refused to credit their story, and would have 
treated them as thieves but for the interposition of some 
of the neighboring gentry, who fortunately recognized 
the King and giving him all the help he needed both as 
to clothes and money, started him on his way to Paris. 

A mournful welcome awaited him in Paris, Henrietta 
Maria though thankful that her son's life had been 
spared, felt with all royalists that the defeat had been 
final and that the cause of the Stuarts was lost, added to 
this was the grief caused by the death of the Princess 
Elizabeth in England. 




02 

o 

W 
M 
o 
o 

05 

M 

03 

M 

o 



CHAPTER VIII. 




HEN Charles landed in Scotland, in 1650, 
, Parliament alarmed lest their little prisoners 
should escape, hurried the Princess Elizabeth 
and the Duke of Gloucester off to Carisbrooke Castle. 
This was almost the last place in which King Charles 
had been confined, and a most depressing effect it had 
on the Princess. The melancholy journey short as it 
was, lasted a week ; they landed at Cowes on the 13th of 
August, but only reached the gloomy Castle of Caris- 
brooke on the 16th. 

They little understood her disposition who sent her 
thither ; a companion of her mother's and of those who 
were with Elizabeth at the last, informs us "she was ab- 
sorbed in melancholy thoughts on approaching the Castle 
to which she was going. There she made many doleful 
reflections ; she thought that it was the wretched place 
where rebellious subjects had imprisoned their prince 

55 



56 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

and lawful sovereign ; which the King her dearest father 
had quitted only to ascend a lamentable scaffold ; and 
shuddered on calling to mind all the disasters and 
calamities of her royal house. These melancholy 
thoughts which she long and studiously revolved in 
her mind, made such deep impressions on her heart, and 
so heated her blood that a violent fever ensued. It 
seemed at first that it was too violent to last long, but 
the event proved otherwise ; for the disorder kept in- 
creasing, resisted all remedies, and at length put an end 
to the life of the afflicted Princess." 

The particulars of Elizabeth's last illness are given in 
a contemporary newspaper. " It appears that on Mon- 
day, August 22nd, within less than a week after her 
arrival at Carisbrooke, she was playing at bowls with 
her brother Harry, on the bowling-green of the Castle, 
which had been constructed for Charles I., and had 
formed his sole recreation. This was one of the few 
games which the brother and sister could share together, 
and Elizabeth delighted in it because it reminded her of 
her father. In the midst of their sport a sudden and 
heavy shower of rain came on, and the Princess was 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 57 

very wet before she reached the house. The next day- 
she complained of headache, and showed feverish symp- 
toms which though at first slight and intermitting, 
increased upon her. The following Sunday, September 
1st, she was confined to her bed, from which she never 
rose again." 

Anthony Mildmay, her guardian at that time, took 
such means as lay in his power for her restoration. He 
summoned the best doctors in the neighborhood and as 
the case became more serious, her old physician Dr. 
Mayerne, who had attended her from infancy was sent 
for. He was too old to come but sent several medical 
men and many prescriptions, but they arrived too late to 
be of any service. 

"One of her attendants writes thus of the dying 
Princess's demeanor, which excited the surprise and 
admiration of all who approached her." 

"After very many rare and ejaculatory expressions, 
abundantly demonstrating her unparalleled piety, to the 
eternal honor of her own memory and the astonishment 
of those who waited on her, she took leave of the world 
on Sunday, the eighth of the same September." 



58 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

Elizabeth died about three o'clock in the afternoon on 
the 8th of September, her hands were clasped in the 
attitude of prayer and her face rested on an open Bible, 
her father's last gift. 

Shortly before her death, Elizabeth appealed to Parlia- 
ment to be allowed to join the Princess Mary and her 
petition was granted, but too late, for at the very time 
Parliament was deliberating on her request and deciding 
to send her to Holland and the Duke to his cousin the 
Elector Palatine at Heidelberg, the news of her death 
arrived. 

An eye witness thus describes her interment. " Her 
body being embalmed, was carefully disposed of in a 
coffin of lead, and on the four-and-twentieth of the said 
month was brought in a borrowed coach from the Castle 
to the town of Newport attended thither with her few 
late servants. At the end of the town, the corpse was 
met and waited on by the Mayor and aldermen thereof, 
in their formalities, to the Church, where about the 
middle of the east part of the Chancel, in St. Thomas's 
chapel, her highness was interred in a small vault 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 59 

purposely made with an inscription of the date of her 
death engraved on her coffin." 
The inscription was merely: — 

"Elizabeth, 2nd daughter of the 

late King Charles, 

deceased September 8th, M. D. C. L." 

In course of time her place of interment was forgotten 
and was not discovered until 1793, in digging a grave 
for the son of Lord Delaware. The vault containing 
the leaden coffin and the urn of the Princess, was in 
a perfect state of preservation. 

Queen Victoria in 1856 erected a handsome monument 
over the little Princess ; she is represented as lying on a 
mattress with her cheek resting on an open Bible, the 
attitude in which she died. 



CHAPTER IX 




JN" the 27th of October of this same year 1650, 
the Stuarts lost their best friend in William 
of Orange. 

Only a week previous to his death he was seized with 
a virulent case of small pox. Owing to the Princess's 
delicate health, the doctors deemed it unsafe for her to be 
with her husband, and her attendants were warned not to 
allow her to know his actual state. At the very last it 
was not possible to keep it from her ; breaking away from 
all who would have restrained her, she rushed to his 
room and clung to his now lifeless body, Her cries 
filled the palace and it was only when almost lifeless 
herself that she could be separated from all that re- 
mained to her of her dear husband. But who can 
wonder at her grief, " she had lost not only a husband, 
but a passionate lover and the kindest friend to her 
family." 
60 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 61 

Eight days later on November 4th, her little boy was 
born, a weak, sickly infant. It was the first thing that 
aroused the young widow from her grief, the feeling that 
she must live and care for her child. 

She desired to have him baptized Charles after her 
dear father to whose memory she was devoted, but to 
this the dowager Princess of Orange and also the States 
General objected, saying " that Charles was a name of 
bad augury." The little boy was baptized with great 
pomp, William for his father, whose death was a serious 
loss to the child for many years to come. 

Amelia of Sohms a haughty, ambitious woman, had 
always been jealous of her royally born daughter-in-law, 
and now she persuaded the States General to restrict 
Mary's power by appointing her as co-guardian with the 
Princess for the child. 

The States General had felt even during William's life 
great uneasiness on account of his devotion to the house 
of Stuart, they therefore acceded to this proposition 
much to the disquietude of Mary, who found her power 
over her boy materially circumscribed. 



62 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

Previous to the death of the Prince of Orange, Mary 
had free intercourse with her family and several times 
had received and entertained her brothers Charles and 
James. Now, however, the States General entered into 
an alliance with the new Republic and the Princes of 
the house of Stuart at Cromwell's request, were forbidden 
Holland. In order to see her brothers the Princess was 
forced to meet them in Germany, and during several 
years these little visits were all the intercourse she had 
with her family. 

Before Charles left Paris for his invasion of England, 
he had made every effort to persuade Mademoiselle to 
become his bride, this she refused to do, for although the 
Emperor had married elsewhere, she had transferred her 
hopes to the young King of France. Charles on his 
return after the defeat at Worcester, endeavored to renew 
his suit, but Mademoiselle cut him short saying, " he 
had better return to England and have his head broken 
or a crown upon it; " not a very polite way of dismissing 
a suitor, and words which she lived to regret. Several 
years later her matrimonial schemes having all failed, 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 63 

la grande Mademoiselle married secretly the Count de 
Lauzun a favorite of Louis XIV. 

Finding his presence no longer desirable in Paris and 
being forbidden Holland, Charles went to Germany and 
there later was joined by his youngest brother. 

For two years after the Princess Elizabeth died the 
Duke of Gloucester was detained at Carisbrooke Castle, 
then to rid themselves of the expense of supporting him 
Parliament gave him permission to join his family, on 
condition he did not enter England. Accordingly he left 
the Isle of Wight and landed at Dunkirk, where a warm 
welcome awaited him from the Princess of Orange. Un- 
able to remain in Holland on account of the attitude the 
States General had assumed towards the Stuarts he 
soon joined his mother in Paris. 

But his visit to that city was not very protracted ; 
so long had he and his mother been separated that 
they found they had but few interests in common. 
Charles hearing his brother was not very happy in his 
surroundings sent for him to come to German}^. The 
children of Henrietta Maria felt keenly the decided 
preference she manifested for their youngest sister. 



64 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

The three following years Henry of Gloucester re- 
mained a student at Leyden, then he entered the French 
army but the military life was so uncongenial to one of 
his studious disposition that he soon left the army and 
returned to Leyden, where he gave his entire time and 
attention to study even stealing hours from sleep to give 
to his favorite pursuit. 

Henry of Gloucester was more like his father in ap- 
pearance than any of the royal family; in character he 
resembled his uncle Henry, Prince of Wales; "a strong 
judgment, a deep and far reaching understanding, a most 
pleasing and affable delivery." 

The Duke of York did not tire so soon of the life of a 
soldier ; most of the years he spent on the Continent he 
was in active service, first as an officer in the French 
army and later serving in the same capacity in the army 
of Spain. 



CHAPTER X 




N January of 1656, the Princess of Orange at 
the earnest solicitation of the Queen dowager 
of England, left Holland to visit Paris. 
At St. Denis she was met by Anne of Austria, Louis 
XIV., the Duke of Anjou, and the Queen of England. 
That she was most cordially received and treated by the 
royal family of France, will be seen by a letter which 
Henrietta Maria wrote about this time to Prince Charles. 

" I leave to better pens than mine to give you the 

description of the arrival of your sister, the Princess 

Royal. She has been received most royally, she pleases 

both high and low. She has been to-day so overwhelmed 

with visits that I am half dead with fatigue, which 

will serve as an excuse that I can tell you no more 

than that I am, 

Sir, my son, 

Your very affectionate mother, 

Henkietta Maeia." 

5 65 



66 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

i 

Many balls, banquets and festivities were given in 
honor of the Princess. Mademoiselle de Montpensier 
gives us an account of her own. " Queen Henrietta 
showed me her daughter the Princess Royal, with the 
words, I present you to a person who has a great wish 
to see you. Mary then embraced me with great 
affection, for one whom I had never seen before." 

"The Princess Henrietta of England was also with 
her, and her brother James, Duke of York." 

" It was in a place the best in the world to receive 
such company, for Chilly is a very beautiful, large and 
magnificent house. I led the Queen my aunt and her 
daughters through the great hall, the antechamber 
and the cabinet to the gallery. The whole was suitably 
furnished and decorated. The Queen of England seated 
herself on a sofa, and her circle was larger than it had 
ever been ; all the princesses and duchesses in Paris 
were there. She dined in the room below, and it may be 
supposed I regaled her and her family sumptuously." 

"When they returned upstairs from dinner, the 
Princess of Orange talked to me without ceasing, 
saying how desirous she had been to see me and how 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 67 

sorry she should have been to have left France with- 
out having accomplished the desire, for the King her 
brother Charles II., had talked of me with so much 
affection, that she had loved me, before she saw me." 

"I asked her how she liked the Court of France? 
She replied that she was indeed well pleased with it, 
the more so because she had a great aversion to that of 
Holland and that as soon as her brother Charles was 
settled in any place, she would go and live with him." 

" Do you observe, said the widow Queen of England, 
that my daughter is not only dressed in black, but 
wears a pommete (a black ball of wood or metal) 
because she is a widow, and has never seen you 
before, certes, her first visit ought to be in strict 
etiquette. I replied, that I was at a loss to see 
any necessity of her being ceremonious with me. The 
Princess of Orange, she adds, wore the most beautiful 
diamond ear-rings I ever beheld, very fine pearls, 
clasps, and large diamond bracelets, with splendid 
rings of the same." 

That winter Mary lived in the Louvre with her 
mother and the Princess Henrietta, a young girl of 
twelve, fast blooming into a beautiful woman. 



68 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

In writing to Holland Mary says, " she is over- 
whelmed with visits, that she has no repose from the 
time she rises in the morning till she goes to bed. 
To tell you the truth, I have scarcely time to eat a 
morsel of bread. I am, however, impatient to tell you 
how well I am treated here, for I can assure you that 
I never in all my life received half so much civility." 

Though Mary undoubtedly enjoyed the festivities of 
the gay metropolis, she was not forgetful of her dead 
husband. One of the court balls given in her honor, 
happening to be on the day the Prince of Orange died, 
she said " that her dear husband's obsequies were solem- 
nized about the same time, for which cause she could 
take no recreation on so sad an anniversary." 

Anne of Austria hoped that Louis XIV. would make 
the Princess of Orange Queen of France, but at that 
time he was too enamoured of Mademoiselle de Mancini 
the niece of Cardinal Mazarin, to think of any one else. 
The following autumn Mary was called home by the 
alarming illness of her little boy, but the glad tidings 
that he was out of danger met her before she arrived 
in Holland. 



CHAPTER XI. 




FTER the battle of Worcester in 1650, Crom- 
well returned in triumph to London, a short 
war with Holland followed in which England 
was successful and by the terms of the treaty, as we have 
seen, Holland was obliged to banish the Stuart princes 
from that country. 

But Cromwell was not satisfied, he aimed now at 
absolute power. The Parliament then in session, at- 
tempting to act independently of him, he by military 
force dismissed, locking the door and putting the key 
in his pocket. 

For the sake of appearances he convened another 
Parliament of his own creatures, a set of low fanatics 
called Barebones Parliament from the name of one of 
its most active and zealous members, Praise-god Bare- 
bones. This Parliament realizing its own inefficiency, 
soon by mutual consent dissolved, only a few of its 

69 



70 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

members remaining in the House of Commons. Crom- 
well sent an officer to dismiss them, who asked what 
they were doing there, "seeking the Lord" they replied; 
then said the officer, " you may go elsewhere, for to my 
certain knowledge, the Lord has not been here these 
many years ; " saying which he turned them out. 

All power now remained in the hands of the army or 
more strictly speaking, in Cromwell's hands, who had 
himself nominated Lord Protector, installed at White- 
hall, declared in office for life, with power to make peace 
and war, and with a standing army to support his gov- 
ernment. This was all that the people of England had 
gained by their Revolution, a king under another name. 

Though a hypocrite and a tyrant, Cromwell was a 
man of strong mental endowments and of a vigorous 
will, and during the Protectorate, England held its 
own among European governments. 

A king in all but name still Cromwell was not satisfied, 
he aspired to the highest honor the country could bestow. 
A Parliament of his making passed an act conferring the 
title of king on the Protector. The army protested 
against this and reports were circulated that a plot had 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 71 

been formed to kill him. His family dreading the result 
interfered, so that Cromwell with the goal of his ambition 
within his grasp was forced to decline it. 

From that time he seemed haunted by fears of an 
untimely death, the cause probably, of a slow fever which 
ended his life September 3rd, 1658, the anniversary of 
two of his greatest victories, Dunbar and Worcester, 
and a day Cromwell had always looked upon as his 
lucky day. 

Richard Cromwell by his father's appointment suc- 
ceeded him as Protector of Great Britain. In every 
respect the opposite of his father, he soon found himself 
unequal to holding the reins of government and in about 
a year he resigned the Protectorate. 

The state of disorder and confusion throughout the 
Kingdom was intense, the military only were in power ; 
but in order to give an appearance of justice to their 
rule, the remnant of the last legal Parliament was 
convened, this was known as the Rump Parliament. 

In this state of anarchy General Monk, one of Crom- 
well's officers, seeing that the people were ready and 
willing for a return to the old rule, marched at the 



72 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

head of the Scotch army to London, dismissed the 
Rump Parliament and called a new one. 

At this crisis Charles II. who had been kept advised 
of the turn affairs had taken in England, sent word to 
Parliament " that they had better perfect the good work 
they had begun by his restoration, promising free pardon 
to all, liberty of conscience and undisturbed possession 
of the then existing titles to property." 

Parliament satisfied with this Declaration, proclaimed 
Charles King of England, and that Prince found him- 
self raised from a state almost of destitution to the 
highest pinnacle of prosperity. 

The effect on Holland of the recall of Charles Stuart 
to the throne of his fathers was very droll. The 
States General turned completely around and could 
not be too lavish in their offers of assistance, saying 
" whoever was King of England, were it the Devil 
himself, they must be friends with him." 

The deputies of Holland sent to " beseech his 
Britannic Majesty to grace them with his usual royal 
presence at the Hague, where such preparations for 
his reception should be made, as would testify their 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 73 

joy for the blessings which divine providence was 
showering on his head." 

The fleet which England sent for the young King- 
had now arrived off Holland. James Duke of York 
was put in charge of it as Lord High Admiral of 
England, and the King accompanied by his two 
brothers sailed for England. At Dover they were met 
by General Monk, and on May 29th, 1660, his twenty- 
ninth birthday, Charles entered London as King of 
England. 

The following September the Princess of Orange 
taking a tender farewell of her boy whom she left 
under the care of the States General, sailed for England, 
little dreaming that she would never return to Holland. 
Charles II. and the Duke of York in their royal barges 
met the Princess at Gravesend September 23d. 

The joy of Mary's return to her native land was 
clouded by the sad tidings that met her. The Duke 
of G-loucester had died about a week previously of 
small-pox and his funeral had only taken place on 
the 21st of September, two days before the Prin- 
cess landed. 



74 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

Early in November Henrietta Maria and the Princess 
Henrietta, escorted by James Duke of York, landed at 
Dover where Charles and the Princess Mary awaited 
them. 

Great was the rejoicing among the royalists at the 
return of the Stuarts, but to the royal family it also 
brought many sad reminiscences, the dreadful fate of 
their father and the untimely deaths of the Princess 
Elizabeth and the Duke of Gloucester ; nor could they 
so soon forget the troublous lives they had led since 
their banishment from England. 

It was about this time, the Duke of York's marriage 
to Annie Hyde daughter of the Duke of Clarendon, 
Chancellor of England, became known. James in his 
visits to his sister Mary, met the young girl, she being 
one of the ladies in waiting on the Princess. A mutual 
attachment was formed which ended in a secret mar- 
riage. Though Annie Hyde was never on the English 
throne her two daughters successively occupied it, the 
older of the two Mary, marrying the Prince of Orange, 
the Princess Marv's son. 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 75 

Just before Christmas of that same year the Princess 
of Orange contracted small-pox, the disease which had 
proved so fatal to her family, probably from the igno- 
rance existing among the doctors in regard to its proper 
treatment. 

Through the few days her illness lasted, Mary was 
perfectly conscious. She made her will and every 
arrangement in her power for the care of her child ; 
if the poor mother could but have looked forward and 
seen the future of her boy ; struggling through great 
difficulties, raised to be the Statholder and General of 
the United Provinces of Holland, one of the first mili- 
tary leaders in Europe and finally King of England ! 

The Princess expired on Christmas Eve, and at her 
own request was buried by the side of her brother the 
Duke of Gloucester in Westminster Abbey. 



CHAPTER XII. 




ENRIETTA MARIA, alarmed by the death 
of her two children, hurried back to France 
with her only remaining daughter. 
At Pontoise they were met by the King and Queen 
of France, Louis having married a Spanish Prin- 
cess ; and his brother Philip who was now Duke 
of Orleans. 

One of Queen Henrietta Maria's reasons for going to 
England, had been to obtain the consent of Charles II. 
to his young sister's marriage to her cousin Philip. 
The royal consent had been given and Parliament 
having settled the dowry of the Princess, there was 
no further obstacle to the marriage. At Monsieur's as 
he is usually styled, earnest request it took place almost 
immediately after Henrietta's return to Paris. For a 
few days the Queen mother and her daughter retired 
to the quiet of the convent at Chailot, a religious house 
76 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 77 

which Henrietta Maria had founded and to which she and 
her daughter were much attached. 

On March 31st, 1661, in the chapel of the Palais 
Royal, the marriage took place in the presence of the 
royal family of France and the Queen dowager of 
England. 

Henrietta was not seventeen years old but she was 
a beautiful woman, exceedingly bright and clever and 
the centre of attraction at the court of France. Mar- 
ried to a man her inferior in mental endowments and 
with little education, there was but small ground for 
congeniality. 

The Duke of Orleans was a handsome man but of a 
weak, selfish nature, caring for no one as much as for 
himself; to this was added a jealousy of disposition 
which was the cause of all of the after troubles of Hen- 
rietta's life. Jealous of the respect and deference Louis 
XIV. showed to his wife's opinions on political matters 
and of the admiration which her beauty, brightness of 
mind, and loveliness of character excited, he would keep 
her secluded as much as possible at one of his country 
seats. 



78 THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

In 1666 Anne of Austria died after a lingering illness 
and two years later Henrietta Maria passed suddenly 
away ; thus the Princess lost her two best friends and 
the only two people by whom the Duke of Orleans was 
influenced. 

Not satisfied with his arbitrary treatment of his wife, 
the Duke kept in his family the Chevalier de Lorraine ; 
a man extremely disagreeable to the Princess and who 
did much to foment the evil dispositions of the Duke 
against his wife. Unable to stand his presence, Henri- 
etta complained to Louis who banished the Chevalier, 
but as we shall see, the Chevalier did not allow distance 
to prevent his wreaking his vengeance on Madame. 

In 1670 Henrietta at the desire of Louis went over 
to England to negotiate a treaty between him and 
Charles II. against Holland. 

Enraged at the confidence placed in his wife in which 
he had no share, the Duke hurried her away from Paris 
within a few days after her return into France. 

This was the 24th of June ; on the 29th, Henrietta 
was seized with a violent pain in her side which increased 
hourly in intensity. The doctors in attendance insisted 



THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 79 

that it was only colic and would wear itself out, but 
from the first Madame felt that she had been poisoned 
and that she was dying. After hours of suffering she 
expired at three o'clock in the morning of the 30th 
of June. 

Louis shocked and distressed at his sister-in-law's 
death, took immediate steps to discover the perpetrator 
of the deed. 

The result of the investigation showed that the Cheva- 
lier de Lorraine had sent poison, which had been rubbed 
by an accomplice in the golden goblet from which 
Henrietta drank. " The Duke of Orleans had not been 
told of the design to poison Madame only because he 
could never keep a secret" and would have ruined 
the plot. 

Thus betrayed by her friends, died the last of the 
daughters of Charles I. ; her body was removed to St. 
Denis on the 4th of July, followed by a stately pro- 
cession. There the monks took charge of the body 
until the grand obsequies, when the Princess Henrietta 
was laid to rest by the side of her mother in that grand 
Westminster Abbey of France. 



80 1HE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 

The only two children of Charles I. living in 1670, 
were Charles II. and James Duke of York, who in a 
few years succeeded his brother as King of England. 

Then came another revolution when James deserted 
by his daughters and driven from his throne by his 
nephew, the Prince of Orange whom we have known as 
the Princess Mary's little boy, sought refuge in France 
and died in that country September 16th, 1701. 



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